The Long Road Back
by DemonKing500
Summary: Jason Brody and his friends have finally escaped the horrors of the Rook Islands, but can he adjust to a "normal" life back in California? Will he be able to rekindle the relationships with his loved ones or will he be swallowed by the insanity for good. Rated M for language. My first story hope everyone likes it.
1. Chapter 1

The Long Road Back

Ch. 1

_Authors Note: An idea I've wanted to write for a while after beating the Far Cry 3. It's my first real attempt at writing a story so I'm open to any criticism from anybody. If people like it then I'll keep writing if not I'll see if some of my other ideas take better form. I do not own Far Cry 3 or any of its characters. All rights go to Ubisoft._

Darkness. That was how the nightmare always started. Then, the screaming of his friends. He tried so hard but he couldn't save them. He saw as his girlfriend Liza and his best friend Oliver burned to death in that mansion. How the face of his brother Riley cried in fear from the window of the plane he didn't stop in time. Then the most painful part of the dream came. The part had really happened. The slow, agonizing death of his brother Grant. He remembered all too clearly the pained look his brother gave as he slowly choked on his own blood. Try as he might he couldn't stop the bleeding from the bullet that lodged itself in his brother's neck while the pirate leader Vaas mocked him.

Jason Brody awoke with a start. The cold air of his room and the swaying of the boat reminded him of where he was.

Jason and his friends escaped the Rook Islands only a few weeks prior but it felt like it had been only a few hours.

The images of the beautiful beaches and the people were as vivid as those of the hundreds of men he killed. The blood of the countless animals he hunted and killed. That final eerie look Vaas gave him as he took his last breath. Jason remembered it all so intensely.

As he thought about more and more, he felt his heart rate quicken. His hands began to tremble and slowly make the shape of the ceremonial dagger he used to end the lives of Vaas and that sinister hit man Buck. The thought of driving the blade through the flesh of another human gave him a rush of unnatural joy.

Suddenly there was a quite knock on his. "Oh… Come in.", said Jason snapping back to reality. It was his girlfriend Liza. Girlfriend was a hard term to accept after the events that had transpired on the Island.

"You're up. Good." said Liza quietly as she slowly opened the door. She stepped hesitantly into the room and walked to side of Jason's bed. "How are you feeling?" she asked in a small voice. It was like she was scared of Jason. He could feel her fear and relished in it. It reminded him of the fear he could see in the faces of his enemies as they searched for him, unsure of where the deadly assassin "Snow White" was lurking.

He returned his thoughts to the conversation at hand, speaking before the silence became awkward.

"Yeah. How'd you sleep?" asked Jason.

"I slept well. I'm starting to get used to the swaying in this thing." Liza spoke in an odd tone. It sounded like she was avoiding something that she wanted to get off of her chest.

"So why did you come check on me?" Jason asked, being direct.

"Ummm…well I just wanted to ask…ummm…"

"What happened back on the island?" Jason said, finishing his girlfriend's sentence for her with a hint of harshness. Jason didn't want to talk about his experiences on the island. No one would understand what he had done and what he had become, Liza especially.

"It's just that… you've been acting so distant. You've changed and we all just want to…"

"LIZA! Just stop okay! If I want to talk to you about it then I will. For now can't I get a little fucking peace?" Exclaimed Jason angrily. He instantly regretted it. A look of pain washed over his girlfriend's face. "Liza it's just complicated okay."

"Okay. Fine." said Liza, obviously hurt. She got up from the side of Jason's bed tears forming in her eyes. As she walked out Jason began to think about what Liza was saying and how much he had changed from the carefree fun-loving guy he used to be.

"Oh god," Jason whispered, "What have I become?"


	2. Chapter 2

The Long Road Back

Ch. 2

It was time. Jason needed to tell his friends everything that had happened. They all knew that Jason had killed to save them. Daisy had already heard him say how killing felt like winning, and Keith had seen Jason kill Buck about 10 feet from his face. Unfortunately, they didn't understand how deeply the capability to kill ran. They didn't know that Jason was viewed as a demigod to the Rakyat. Heel they didn't even really know who the Rakyat were. Yes. They needed to understand what Jason experienced on that dreaded island.

Jason stepped came out of his room. He had spent most of the day contemplating how he should tell everyone what had happened. It was night and the moon was full and strong. Jason let the brisk cold air calm him so that he could finalize his thoughts. As he did this though, his mind began to travel back to the island. He remembered hunting a rare black panther on a night like this. He remembered the beast pounced on him from a nearby rock. It knocked Jason to the ground and attempted to jam its teeth into the warrior's throat. Jason blocked the panther with his arm and slashed it across the face with his machete. As the wild animal recoiled and prepared to strike again, Jason lifted his bow and with the quick combat archery skills he had honed, delivered an arrow straight into the panther's throat.

Jason brought his thoughts back to the present and found that he was excited again. A small smile still held on his face. "I gotta get my head straight." said Jason to himself. He walked towards the front of the boat and found the whole group sitting around eating some of the food they had stored from Dr. Earnhardt's mansion. They were laughing and joking like old times, and for a moment Jason remembered what it was like to be another carefree rich kid college boy. He missed that reality, but after everything he had been through it felt more like a dream than his life only a few months prior.

Oliver, Jason's stoner best friend noticed him first. "Hey hey, it's the big J.", he said in a cheerful tone.

"Hey guys." Jason said in a quavering tone.

"C'mon have a seat and get some chow." Keith said. He was looking a lot better after everything that had happened to him. What Buck did to him would leave most people unable to speak much less smile and have a good time.

Jason took a seat and made himself a small sandwich. AS much as he hated to bring the good mood down, he needed to explain what had happened now. He needed this for his sake and the sake of his friends. "I gotta tell you guys what happened." Jason said in weaker voice than usual.

"About what?" Daisy said in a voice that easily gave away the fact that she knew what was coming.

"About the island, about the tattoos, about all of those people that kidnapped you." Jason said a little bit louder than before. Everyone got quiet. The only sound was the ocean moving the boat slowly. Jason began his story with how he escaped. He talked about how Grant helped him but was killed by Vaas. He went on to explain how Dennis saved him from the river and gave him his first Tatau.

"So what do they mean?" Liza inquired with both concern and interest on her voice.

"It signifies that I'm a warrior of the Rakyat people." Jason said with some pride behind his words. As he said it he noticed a slight twitch of discomfort in some of his friends. It was like that sentence put a line between him and his friends.

Jason continued to go on and talk about his first times killing another person and hunting wild animals to use their skins for crafting new equipment. He talked about retrieving the ceremonial knife for Citra and how he killed Buck with it to save Keith, making sure to leave out the details of Keith's experience. Jason spoke for a good two hours before he got to the part that truly made him a "Warrior of the Rakyat." He told them about how he killed the "Giant" under the influence of the dark drugs Citra gave him. He made sure to steer clear of how intimate Citra became with him while he was in his stupor. Liza already appeared annoyed about the twinge of admiration Jason put in his voice when he spoke of her. Finally, Jason talked about his killing of Vaas in a drug induced realm. He relished every moment of retelling his victory over the pirate leader. The brutality of it all both amazed and disgusted his friends. Over the next two hours, he talked about disguising himself as a privateer to assassinate Hoyt Volker. He talked about Sam Becker and how he assisted him on the southern Rook Island. Jason talked about the poker game in which he lost his finger but in the process killed Hoyt and finally saved Riley. "And that's about it." Jason finished in a slightly out of breath voice. He felt so relieved to tell his group what had happened.

"Oh Jason." Liza said her eyes beginning to tear up. Jason was unsure of what was making her cry. Could it be that she wasn't able to except what had become of her boyfriend. Or, was she just glad that he explained himself to everyone. In the end it was something in between. "Oh god Jason," Liza sobbed into his chest as she clung to him as though he were a life preserver, "was going to get you help once we get back home. I promise."

"What!" Jason exclaimed. "I don't need help. I've become a more powerful person then I would have ever been had this not happened!"

"Jason. You saw and did some serious shit man. We've all seen you do it." Keith began. "It definitely messed with you."

"Bro you need to sit down and talk about this with a specialist or something. I mean… you killed so many people. And now your acting like you liked." said Riley with heavy concern in his words.

"Shut the fuck up Riley!" Jason yelled in rage. He thought that Riley if anyone would be on his side. Didn't they see that Jason could finally fight for himself? He felt that he had become stronger that anyone he knew and that he could do anything. His friends on the other hand saw him as a broken man. They saw him as a murderer. They saw no longer saw him as fun guy Jason Brody. Now he was Jason Brody the sociopathic killer.

"Jason, just listen for a second." Daisy pleaded.

"Don't talk to me like I need some kind of fucking help! I know what I did and I'm fine."

Keith ran up to Jason and grabbed both of his shoulders. "Jason. Just take a minute. You need to cool your head." Keith said, blocking Jason from the rest of the group. Jason shoved Keith away and said, "I'm going to bed." He stormed off angrily to his room.

Jason looked at his friends one more time before going to the door leading below deck. He saw only faces of fear and sorrow staring back at him. Daisy was trying to comfort Liza while Riley could only stare with tears welling in his eyes. His friends were just trying to look out for him, but they didn't understand that he didn't need them looking out for him anymore. They still saw their fun loving friend Jason Brody, but now that Jason Brody was dead.


End file.
